Nyack, NY March 26, 2013 (SFF PR) — The Space Frontier Foundation today opened applications and announced the schedule for 2013 NewSpace Business Plan Competition.

Applications and Executive Summaries can be submitted from now through May 29th. On June 15th we will be notifying the finalists and they will have until July 12th to submit their full business plans. Boot Camp for finalists begins July 24th, and the competition will be held at the NewSpace Conference July 25-27 in Silicon Valley.

“Having a great idea is wonderful. Being able to bring it to fruition is the really important part. The NewSpace Business Plan Competition helps entrepreneurs focus not only on the next innovation to enable the Frontier, but the process, or business plan, through which you’ll achieve your goal,” said Rick Sanford, President of SpaceGroundAmalgam and winner in 2012 of the $100,000 first prize. “Winning the competition bootstrapped our great idea to the next level. Beyond the marketing value, it’s engendered business partnerships, discussions with investors and an umbrella Space Act Agreement, in process, with NASA.”

Mr. Sanford elaborated, “The entire program is efficacious and professional. The Space Frontier Foundation has devised a unique, highly challenging, set of requirements that must be met for the initial submission. Making the first cut, being assigned a mentor and receiving the invitation to attend Boot Camp is where the real value begins.”

Even for those who don’t win, the Competition and Conference can be a lucrative networking opportunity. There are numerous investors and customers among the coaches, judges and audience who every finalist has ample opportunity to impress.

This year we are pleased to welcome ATK as a Sponsor of the NewSpace Business Plan Competition. In addition to overall sponsorship and prize money, ATK is funding another Market Sector Prize for a business plan dealing with on-orbit servicing. More information about the process and judging of this special prize will be released later this spring. For now, rules and detailed information about the 2013 NewSpace Business Plan Competition can be found at http://newspace.spacefrontier.org/BPC/ and competitors can submit their Executive Summary, along with the $50 application fee at http://www.decisiondesk.com/clients/newspacebpc2013/apply/flexform/1/

Jonathan Goff, President and CEO of Altius Space Machines who won the $25,000 first prize in 2011 summed it up by saying, “The opportunity to compete, the coaching, feedback, and lessons learned were in many ways more valuable than the actual prize. I think this prize competition is a great opportunity that requires competitors to really sharpen their story, listen to and internalize feedback from others, and hopefully step outside of their echo chambers a bit. It was worth every minute.”

While the day-and-a-half Business Plan Boot Camp is held behind closed doors, the final competition itself is held in front of the audience attending the NewSpace 2013 conference. Anyone interested in hearing the pitches of some of the most intriguing companies that are transforming the future of human civilization should register to attend NewSpace 2013.